EVALUATION OF WINE QUALITY USING A SMALL-PANEL HEDONIC SCALING METHOD

A hedonic scoring method for evaluating wines with a small panel was examined for reliability, effects of training level and agreement with a traditional 20-point scoring technique. The method was found to differentiate among qualities of 14 domestic Sauvignon Blanc wines with good reliability. Four panels were tested, three with a high degree of experience in wine judging and a fourth consisting of fine wine consumers with no special training. The three experienced panels agreed well about the wines' quality scores. Mean panel scores were less highly correlated (although still positive) with the untrained panel, which showed higher variability and lower reliability. Mean scores from the hedonic method were correlated at r =+0.94 with mean scores from a 20-point quality judging procedure. The small panel hedonic method is suitable for generating quality scores for consumer guidance in large scale wine surveys, as are commonly found in popular wine periodicals.